Carpoint.com Extends Its Lead as the No. 1 Online Car Buying and Ownership Site

September 4, 2001
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REDMOND, WASH. SEPT. 4, 2001 — The MSN®
Carpoint (TM) online automotive service ( http://www.carpoint.com/ ), the most visited car-buying and -ownership site on the Web, today announced significant growth in the volume of consumers using its research and ownership services to buy and maintain vehicles online. In addition, Carpoint has been the top-ranked car-buying site for more than 36 months, according to Jupiter Media Metrix.* Its 7 million monthly visitors use its rich content and services to make more-informed ownership and maintenance decisions about their vehicles.

The new Ratings and Reviews feature, which provides buyers with access to real-life perspectives from actual vehicle owners, has grown to exceed more than 200,000 personal consumer reviews since its recent launch. Providing details about consumers’ favorite features, advice on how specific models perform in bad weather and opinions on reliability, comfort and service requirements, this vehicle ownership forum enhances the online car-buying experience.

The Carpoint Personal Auto Page, a feature that allows drivers to build customized reference centers for their cars, today surpassed more than 3 million registered vehicles. Consumers simply provide basic information about their vehicle, and Carpoint maintains the vehicle’s information to provide recall notices and timely e-mail service reminders to help make it easier for consumers to maintain their cars.

“These milestones reinforce the ability of Carpoint to consistently meet consumer demand for the tools and services that improve the car-buying and -ownership experience,” said Ryan Hamlin, general manager of Carpoint. “Over the coming months, Carpoint will introduce new services for consumers and work with industry leaders to provide the most complete automotive-buying and -owning experience on the Web.”

The ownership features of Carpoint are designed to help consumers maintain detailed information relevant to their car-care needs. Consumers using these services have access to used-car record checks, recall and service reminders, Kelley Blue Book values, and the repair cost estimator tool. In addition, the recently launched Carpoint Service Center enables users to schedule appointments in just minutes at more than 18,000 locations for services ranging from oil changes and tire alignments to tuneups and general car maintenance.

About Carpoint

Launched in October 1995, Carpoint ( http://www.carpoint.com/ ) is the leading online automotive marketplace, visited by more than 7 million consumers each month. From product reviews and surround video features to new- and used-car pricing, Carpoint helps consumers find the car they love, at a price they can afford. With details on more than 10,000 car models and 100,000 used vehicles, visitors can research and compare cars of virtually every make and model, identify local dealers, and receive instructions for post-purchase service and maintenance. Carpoint has a network of more than 5,000 affiliated dealers nationwide.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.

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